Wedding photographer’s website

Martin Cheung https://www.martincphotography.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

Martin was personally recommended to us by a good friend, who had worked with him several times. We loved his energy and sense of fun, and felt comfortable he would help us capture our day and record the amazing memories! We also loved that his wife, Daiga, was available to film, as we were really keen to get amazing video for those of our far-flung family who couldn’t attend. They were both so lovely on the day, working with us throughout a pretty hectic day to capture so many amazing images, both intimate and relaxed as well as large group shots. Reviewing the photos on our honeymoon, we felt so fortunate to have had them both involved with the day. Martin managed to corral our 150+ guests into numerous group and family shots, and is still mentioned at family gatherings as a ‘legend’! He was also endlessly patient with us putting back the time of our first dance because, in true Greek fashion, nothing happened on time!

Your best moment or memory

Seeing our dog Cleo, in her beautiful flower collar, coming down the aisle as our ring bearer was so special! Phoebe’s favourite part of the day was stepping out into the ceremony room and seeing Sarah’s beautiful smile lighting up the room, where Sarah and her family had been in charge of building a traditional Jewish chuppah on the morning of the wedding. The whole room was filled with love and sunlight. Sarah’s favourite moment was during the evening reception, when we found our roller derby team-mates building a human pyramid on the lawn! It just showed how relaxed our guests were, feeling free to let their hair down and party, which is exactly what we wanted!

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We mixed some Jewish and some Greek traditions in, without much religion, to celebrate both of our family heritages, so we smashed a glass, swapped flower crowns, drank raki and danced to some traditional (and not so!) Greek and Jewish music at the reception. Phoebe walked down the aisle on her own, following both of her parents, and Sarah was accompanied by both her mom and dad, to buck the tradition of being ‘given away’.

Sarah + Phobe – Hazel Gap Barn from No Ordinary Films (Daiga Cheung) on Vimeo.

Videographer name + review

Daiga https://www.noordinaryfilms.co.uk/ Daiga was so friendly and enthusiastic about capturing our wedding. We have laughed and cried over our wedding videos as they really capture the warmth and love of the day! Daiga was so intent on capturing the little moments, and has woven them into a gorgeous video which really feels so personal and heartwarming to watch back. It really takes us back to the day!

Venue name + review

Hazel Gap Barn – what can we say but wow! This very quickly became our wish-list venue as it is so beautiful, but it was a bit out of our price range. Thanks to our very generous parents, we were lucky enough to be able to make it work and we were so happy we did.

Our co-ordinator, Beth, was so on top of everything on the day, it felt like we didn’t have to worry about a single thing. She was worth her weight in gold! The entire staff at Hazel Gap were so professional, polite and made the whole day run so smoothly. We got so many compliments on the food – people said it was the best wedding meal they had ever had – and we have to agree! It was so important to both of us that the food was great and we were so happy with the feast night that Hazel Gap offers to its customers, where we got to sample the menu. As a vegetarian, Phoebe was adamant that their vegan and vegetarian guests would have as much choice as anyone else, and Hazel Gap really delivered! The grounds and buildings are absolutely stunning and the staff really are excellent at what they do.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Phoebe wore an off the shoulder, old Hollywood-style chiffon dress with a dramatic sleeve, from All Who Wander. It made me feel like an absolute glamazon! Sarah had a tailored three piece suit, in a dark green and orange checked bamboo fabric. She wore her grandfather’s RAF dress shirt and cufflinks, which matched her buttons.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Phoebe: Emily’s Bridal, Sheffield.

Emily’s was one of the first dress shops I looked at online, and as soon as I visited in person, I knew I would get my dress there. Nicole helped me throughout, as my mum and sisters all lived abroad at the time, so I was flying solo when dress shopping. She listened to what I wanted, brought me armfuls of dresses and then found THE ONE (which was none of the things I had said I wanted!) She has a magic eye and her enthusiasm and warmth shone through every appointment, every silly question, and every request I made!

The last few weeks where I was driving up to Sheffield for fittings and stylings were some of my favourite wedding prep moments, because I was SO excited to see my dress and step into the calm, kind and happy environment they have created there! I was treated with kindness and joy by every single person I met at Emily’s and I will recommend it to anyone looking for a dress.

Sarah: Orhan London Tailoring.

I found the process of finding a wedding suit quite daunting at the beginning, as I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking for and how the typical ‘mens’ suits would fit. I found Orhan London Tailoring recommended online as somewhere specifically queer-friendly and really loved their photos, so gave them a visit.

I felt super taken care of from my very first visit, where Joe went through the different options with me and made me feel completely comfortable asking all the questions!

Although I wasn’t originally planning on a tailored suit, I decided that it was a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to create exactly what I wanted, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Florist name + review

Sanita’s Flowers, Nottingham.

It took us a few false starts to find Sanita, and it turns out the best wedding florist is actually our local one! Right from our first meeting, Sanita filled us with confidence that she understood what we wanted and was going to deliver it. On the day, she was hands-on and enthusiastically making sure every flower she had planned was in the right place and looked perfect! Sanita absolutely fulfilled our ideas of bright, rainbow coloured blooms in a bohemian, relaxed style. She was also really mindful of our budget, and helped us carefully and thoughtfully make some small changes to deliver what we wanted within this.

Cake maker name + review

Pudding Pantry, Nottingham. When we realised our favourite cafe also made wedding cakes, we were pretty sure that we wanted them to make our wedding cake! However, having almost 200 guests to the event meant A LOT of cake. Pudding Pantry worked with us to do cake tastings (the best day of wedding planning!) and come up with completely custom combinations, and they didn’t bat an eyelid at any of our guests dietary needs. We weren’t quite sure about how we wanted it to look, but they were really patient and kind at showing us different ideas and talking us through options to design a cake together. On the day, it looked and tasted incredible, even if one of our younger guests did try to eat it with their hands before we got to cut it!

Stationery maker’s name + review

We used Vistaprint and some of their design features to personalise our invitations and thank you cards. It was an affordable provider with loads of options to customise the designs and we were really happy with the speed of service and quality of the prints.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

We did a lot of the decor ourselves, with Sarah’s friends and family spending the night before the wedding constructing paper lanterns, garlands and pompoms to hang up around the venue, as well as labelling the wedding favours. Phoebe painted the welcome sign and schedule, and made the guestbook and seating plan display herself as well, and brushed up on her calligraphy skills for the place cards too. These little touches made a lot of the wedding feel more personal and a lot of them are still decorating our house now!

Wedding readings?

Our friend Nathan read an extract from ‘Everything I Know About Love’ by Dolly Alderton, which perfectly captured how Sarah and Phoebe feel about each other and their life together.

Sarah’s cousin Justin read ‘A Lovely Love Story’ by Edward Monkton, really hamming up the line about the couple being old. It was fun and funny, and just the kind of laughter that Sarah and Phoebe wanted during their ceremony!

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Ten Years by Daði Freyr. We pondered for ages on the wedding first dance song, as we wanted something not too formal and stiff, but that we could have a few moments together to dance to, before having our friends and family join in! This was the perfect song, as it is bouncy, energetic but with a gorgeous message, and we still get up and recreate our dance moves whenever we hear it!

Hair + makeup name + review

Ms Moo Makeup – As soon as I got engaged, I knew I wanted Sali to be my makeup artist – I think she was the first person I booked when the date was confirmed! She has done several friend’s wedding makeup, and is a well known wedding makeup artist in the East Midlands. She is so funny, and fun, and made me cackle like a witch several times over the course of my wedding morning! She made me and my bridesmaids all look absolutely gorgeous and glowy, and set us all at ease. She listened so carefully to me during our initial chats and trial sessions, and delivered a truly special service on the morning, making me feel relaxed and at ease, despite my nerves.

Blush Moments Hair – Sharon was quite a late addition to my wedding team, and she was personally recommended to me by Sali, who had worked with her before. Sharon is so lovely and friendly, she was great at listening to what I wanted and delivering it in a way that worked with my dress, veil and overall style of the day. She gave me loads of input into hair care and prep, to make sure that it would all work together on the big day and last well into the night! On the day, she was calm, well-prepared and efficient and had us all ready early – which is no mean feat! Sarah’s hair and makeup was done by her gorgeous bridesmaid, Kariisa, with the help of some amazing samples from our friend Hayley at La Mer!

The post Phoebe & Sarah’s super creative, everything-and-more wedding, with Martin Cheung Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

“Obviously we’re biased and think our wedding day was magical but we’re also so pleased with how personal and true to ourselves the whole day felt. We want to sip champagne and dance to all our favourite songs with all our favourite people over and over again!” ~ April & Zoe

Wedding photographer’s website

Sam Chipman https://www.samchipmanphotography.com/

Wedding photographer review

Sam was really chilled and specialises in candid photographs which is exactly the vibe we wanted for our wedding. He put us totally at ease with his no fuss approach and really went with the flow.

Your best moment or memory

Walking back up the aisle as newlyweds with all our family and friends around us is a feeling I don’t think we’ll ever top.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We decided very early on that we both wanted to walk down the aisle seeing as we’re both brides. We also opted for a pastel rainbow cake as our way of incorporating a little bit of pride into our day!

Venue name + review

Chilli Barn
Leah and all the staff at Chilli Barn couldn’t have been more helpful and nothing was too trouble. The barn is an intimate venue with stunning countryside views and everyone commented on how beautiful it was.

Tell us a little about your outfits

April – My dress was very me! A boho/fairy vibe with a lace top and tulle skirt. I felt that it really suited the venue and I felt ethereal the whole day.
Zoe – I opted for a suit, I’m not really the dress type. Like April I kept it very me so casual and comfy but in pink! Trousers and a waistcoat and custom embroidered converse.

Dress or suit shop name + review

April’s dress is handmade from a lovely shop on Etsy – Lady Versus.

Florist name + review

We went DIY with our flowers and handpicked all the flowers for our bouquets, aisle arch and tables from an artificial flower wholesalers. It really allowed us to put our own stamp on the little touches.

Cake maker name + review

Little Dumplings Cakes. We’re vegan so finding a vegan wedding cake maker narrows the search considerably! Little Dumplings makes the nicest vegan and allergy friendly cakes in the world. We opted for a pastel rainbow rather than traditional white and it went down a treat with all the guests.

Stationery maker’s name + review

We used various small businesses from Etsy to make up all of our wedding stationery. We love supporting small local people.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

Chilli Barn is an amazing venue where they let you decorate as you wish so we really let loose our inner crafters. We picked classic books for our table names and built our centrepieces around each book with natural log slices and candles and delicate wildflowers. We stained some used wooden crates to make our table seating chart as well as using a heart-shaped stamp to cut paper hearts out of books to sprinkle around the tables.

Wedding readings?

We had 2 readings, both done by family, from the bible – Jeremiah 29:11 and Psalm 139:14 We are a part of a church so this was really meaningful for us.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Not traditional at all but we chose Y’all Means All by Miranda Lambert as featured on season 6 of queer eye. The thought of slow dancing filled us with dread so we went for the complete opposite. Playlist recommendations – our playlist was filled with all things 00’s and pop punk – think Busted to All Time Low with a healthy mix of Lucy Spraggan and country thrown in.

Hair + makeup name + review

April really enjoys doing makeup and wanted to do her own (and by extension that meant Zoe too).

The post April & Zoe’s creative, DIY Chilli Barn wedding, with Sam Chipman Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Damien Vickers – https://www.damienvickersphotography.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

Damien did just the most wonderful job of capturing our wedding. He perfectly balanced candid shots with group and posed photos, and the “golden hour” sunset photos he did are phenomenal – so many of our guests have commented that these are the best wedding photos they have ever seen and we can’t disagree! Damien was also a lovely person to have with us throughout the day and in the lead up to the wedding – he was unobtrusive, made sure he knew of particularly special moments and people we wanted captured, and made two camera-shy individuals feel very at ease.

Your best moment or memory

The ceremony itself – we had a wonderful celebrant (Ruth Salisbury-Higgs) who helped us come up with a really personal ceremony. We both wrote our own vows and finished with confetti from all our guests in the sunshine!

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We had rum punch as one of our reception drinks in memory of a fun holiday in the Caribbean and the four tier wedding cake was made by one of the bride’s mums. We also lit a unity candle as part of our ceremony and involved our parents.

Venue name + review

Willow Grange Farm – We put a deposit down at Willow Grange Farm for our wedding before we’d visited the venue – and it truly paid off! The venue itself is beautiful and helped create a really relaxed and fun environment for the day and the gorgeous weather meant people were able to spend the whole day outside, from the ceremony under the pagoda to drinks outside the tent and then food and dancing in the tent. Oh and the sunset was incredible! Plus we had lots of guests stay on site which was a real bonus, and their commitment to sustainability is what made us select them in the first place. The team at Willow Grange Farm, Clara and Hannah especially, are just wonderful; they helped us plan all the details in the lead up to the day and stayed calm throughout, no matter how stressed we were! On the day they were both amazing, making sure everything ran smoothly and being the cogs behind the scene that made the whole day fantastic. The venue and the team have had so many compliments from out guests.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

We both wore dresses by a Spanish designer, Rosa Clara who has a collection called Alma Novia.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Boa Boutique in Surrey – Philippa and Sheila were amazing; they have a wonderful collection of dresses and made us feel so comfortable and special. We had a fair amount of alterations that we needed to do before final fitting and they really paid off – we both felt amazing on the day!

Florist name + review

Clemmie & Twine – the absolute dream choice to do flowers for our wedding! From the moment we met them, they listened to some of our ideas and provided lots of creative thought where we needed it. Their hard work led to such a beautiful day – with a flower arch where we had the ceremony and then moved to the reception entrance, to flowers in our hair and beautiful bouquets, to flowers for our homemade wedding cake, to posies and candles on the tables and moveable sprays of flowers inside. They were super flexible and provided us with greenery and flowers where we wanted to put together our own little personal touches too.

Cake maker name + review

Hanna’s mum! A four tiered gluten free wedding cake – it was delicious and looked stunning with real flowers cascading down it.

Stationery maker’s name + review

Little Green Wedding – we had beautiful wildflower themed order of service cards, table names and plans. They were all printed on eco-friendly seed paper so our guests could grow wildflower seeds from them when they got home; truly beautiful!

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

We created a “Donation Station” and chose two charities that were important to us so people could donate rather than give us gifts. We created posters and framed them and had candles and flowers surrounding them, plus a polaroid camera so people could take photos and add them to our guest book.

Wedding readings?

Excerpts from: Thomas Merton “A Little Life” – Hanya Yanigihara “Wild Awake” – Hilary T Smith

First dance song?

Paper rings by Taylor Swift

Hair + makeup name + review

Flashkate Bridal Hair & Make up – I am so glad I had the absolute pleasure of Kate doing my hair and make up for my wedding – and she even took on a last minute ask to do my mum’s hair and my partner’s hair too! Kate has a natural knack for putting people at ease; she listens to any ideas I had and came up with styles even better than I hoped for, including fixing real flowers into my hair and making some on-the-day tweaks to what we’d previously trialled. Both hair and make up lasted so well throughout the whole day but never felt “crispy” and I felt like a better version of me!

The post Hanna & Caitlin’s dreamy festival wedding, with Damien Vickers Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

I get a real sense of excitement from these photos. There’s an authenticity that makes the moments feel closer, as though I’m there in the moment with every picture. I’ve said many times how much I love real documentary wedding photography for the atmosphere it brings to every shot. I can imagine these two leafing through their wedding album in twenty years time and being transported right back to the wedding day: it all feels so real!

Styling and decor wise, this wedding has everything: the floral dress is amaaaaazing – the colour palette used everywhere is incredible. The sleek jumpsuit teamed with that fabulous jacket is just perfect; both girls are stunning on the dance floor in their outfits. The colourful streamers on the table centres are really striking; and seeing all of this riot of colour through bubbles makes it even more beautiful!!

Charlie and Lucy’s wedding was a photographer’s dream. Colourful and spontaneous, fun and silly, whilst remaining emotional and real, we absolutely loved every second. ~ York Place Studios

Chelsea Physic Garden is a truly beautiful spot for a wedding. It’s an exclusive use venue with quirks and treasures aplenty! There are secret pathways and stunning gardens for glorious photo opportunities – and it’s tucked away in a corner of Chelsea next to the Thames.

We’re head over heels in love with the joyful vibe of this wedding: from the colourful flowers to the thousands of bubbles, the rainbow brollies and the looks of love between Lucy and Charlie. It’s a belter of a wedding, a beauty of an occasion, and an absolute delight to share these photos with you! Loads more coming soon on our insta @englishweddingblog

Top tip: bubble guns + trigger happy mini people = JOY!!!

Brother and sister duo Liam and Dominique Shaw are York Place Studios. They’re the authors of Is This Something? A guide to capturing the unposed image through the lens of a wedding day.

The post Charlie & Lucy’s bubble-filled, colourful Chelsea wedding, with York Place Studios appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

https://www.bloomwoodphotography.co.uk/

How did you choose your photographer?

We met Emma at an open evening being held by our venue. We found her to be friendly and approachable, which was unrivalled when we met with other photographers at wedding fairs.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Emma made us feel relaxed and as comfortable as possible during the pre-wedding photoshoot and on the day of our wedding. Everyone commented on how well she fitted in with the wedding party on the day, making the photos an enjoyable part of the day. We were really pleased with the photos of our wedding day and the Thank You cards and Wedding Album that she created.

What’s your fondest memory of your wedding?

The ceremony was our fondest memory – having all our family together in a beautiful venue, with a live singer and guitarist. We were trying to take in every moment of the ceremony…whilst also trying not to cry!

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

Little Channels was the perfect venue for a smaller wedding. As soon as we arrived to look around, we both knew this was where we wanted to get married. The venue is beautifully decorated with wooden beams and fairy lights. It was important to us to have the wedding breakfast, bar and DJ all in the same room, so our guests stayed together throughout the day. On top of that Little Channels has great outside space that is just for the wedding party to use. We were also impressed with the wedding team and the food at the venue.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?

We got our suits from Dapper Chaps. We were impressed with the whole experience from choosing our suits to the fittings – it was really relaxed and enjoyable. We were really pleased with the suits we chose and how good the best men looked (as well as the grooms!).

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

Hannah Louise Flowers did an amazing job of taking our ideas and producing some of the most beautiful arrangements we had ever seen. The ceremony room, table centre pieces and pocket hole flowers were stunning! As an Autumn wedding, we chose dark reds and orange flowers with foliage and berries – and the result surpassed our brief!

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Cakes at Kims made our semi-naked 3 tier wedding cake. The cake flavours were delicious and it was decorated with matching flowers from our Florist. The guests loved the cake too – we wish we had gone with a 4th tier!

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

For our wedding favours we had seen online the idea of using succulents in glass jars. Paul’s mum offered to make them for us – she grew the succulents and then made up the glass jars with hessian, twine, stones and a tag with the message ‘Let Love Grow’.

Did you have any wedding readings? What were they?

We chose 2 readings: He’s Not Perfect – Bob Marley and From Beginning to End – Robert Fulghum.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We chose not to have a first dance – it was going to be too awkward for everyone!

Favourite wedding suppliers

https://www.bloomwoodphotography.co.uk/
https://www.hannahlouiseflowers.co.uk/
https://dapperchapsformalwear.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/cakesatkims
We would also recommend Fix The Music and Stephen Cornwell who performed for our ceremony and whilst we had our Wedding meal. He had a great voice and did a brilliant job.
https://www.fixthemusic.com/wedding-singer-london-steve

The post Neil & Paul’s super romantic Little Channels wedding, with Bloomwood Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

We had a full weekend event booked from Friday – Sunday at Cragwood in the Lake District. The staff at the venue were lovely & our rooms were incredibly bright & beautiful. My wife (!!) and I danced alone in the library to Nat King Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’, secretly filmed by our friend Rebecca. The funniest moment was probably during the ceremony itself, we couldn’t figure out which ring was which because they’re identical… I confidently picked one up & said ‘this one!’ then put my wedding ring on Abi’s finger… my fingers are tiny! There was a panicked moment (and some very funny photos) where we thought we might have to, quoting Abi, ‘revisit this later with some butter…’ It wouldn’t be our wedding without some kind of mishap!

“We had our mums walk us down the aisle, it turned out to be an all woman wedding (mums, aunty, grandma, best friend) plus the photographer, and the two wonderful ladies from Cumbria Council who officiated. Girl power!”

Wedding photographer’s website

https://jayepeg.co.uk

How did you choose your photographer?

We found Jaye by searching through Lake District Photography results on Google – we looked at her Instagram & website & decided her style matched what we wanted perfectly! We met Jaye at Cragwood, our venue, to confirm everything & we were even more sure then that we’d made a great decision.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We loved Jaye, from the first meeting to the speed at which she sent through our finished photos – everything was spot on. Our wedding was very small (5 guests plus us) so I was a bit worried people would get bored, but Jaye’s humour & easy going style of working made everything fun & she made sure to capture lots of candid photos of the guests as well as Abi & I! The photos were perfect, I’m still in awe of them now 8 months later! Great quality & editing & lighting. 10/10!

Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?

I think videographers are a great idea, we’re just a bit too…awkward? To be filmed completely. Friends of mine have had videographers & they’ve loved it all, so I’d say go for it if you have the money!

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

If you Google Cragwood Country House & Hotel, you’ll see why we fell in love with it. It’s beautiful, the rooms and grounds are gorgeous & overlook Lake Windermere, as well as the surrounding hills. The staff are amazing, the food is incredible, the way they make you feel like the only people in the hotel is so unique & personalised. They accommodate specially for small weddings – they couldn’t do enough! I could do it all over again, a million times.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?

I got my wedding dress from ASOS! Abi got her jumpsuit from Reiss. It was so easy…really lucky actually that we got what we wanted so quickly.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We were originally due to get married in July 2021, but we got Covid 9 days before! Originally we’d bought some beautiful dried flowers from Artisan Dried Flower Co on Etsy, but they didn’t last until September when we’d rearranged. I worked for M&S at the time so I bought two massive bunches of white roses & hand tied our own bouquets with twine, using the petals from about 5 other white roses for our confetti. They were simple but we loved them. I did wait until the morning of the wedding which was a big rush but we got there!

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

We didn’t have a cake! Calvin, the chef at Cragwood, made two amazing 4 course dinners on the Friday and Saturday. So we ate & drank our fill of that! I can’t recommend the food highly enough, it was sensational.

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

Abi’s mum gave her a locket with her Gran, Grandad and Grandma inside, and a bracelet for her ‘something borrowed’. My mum gave me the necklace she got for her wedding 20 years ago – which I still have on now!

Did you have any wedding readings? What were they?

We had our own wedding vows that we read to each other later in the day. We’re not natural orators so we chose the traditional civil service ‘to have & to hold, in sickness & in health’ vows which were really meaningful in their own way.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

Nat King Cole – Unforgettable. We chose it on a whim but it has a meaningful link to both of our Grandads, so it was a nod to them.

Favourite wedding suppliers

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ArtisanDriedFlowerCo

The post Krystan & Abi’s gorgeous Cragwood Lake District wedding, with Jaye Peg Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

VENUE – Kelham Island Museum
PLANNING – Francesca Cliffe Events
DESIGN + FLOWERS – Fantail Designer Florist
PHOTOGRAPHY – Captured Life Photography
STATIONERY – Sheaf Design Works
MODELS – David + Richard
STYLING + NEON SIGN – Keith Woods Weddings & Events
SUITS – Master Debonair
CAKE + TREATS – The Snowdrop Cakery
HAIR – Hair by Paige Wild
PROPS + LIGHTING – Wild Wedding Days
CROWNS – Glorious by Heidi

A natural and rustic wedding breakfast table setting on long trestles, peacock chairs and benches. Beautiful swagged velvet cloth sweeping through the middle of the table added texture and a focal point for the flowers and stunning square wedding cake with floral moulding to the edges.

Raffia placemats wrapped with gold and an elaborate dessert table filled of doughnuts, iced shortbread, brownies and mini cakes entice guests to be seated.
Wedding invites and menu cards are watermarked in emerald and gold leaf while beautiful stone name places create keepsakes for guests.

Photographed by the talented Charlotte from Captured Life Photography. We knew she would be perfect and was a master of creating a story. A staged ceremony backdrop of swagging drapes really softened the fabulous blank canvas the venue has to offer.

David’s crown was the showstopper of the shoot. Designed and made my Glorious by Heidi. Why shouldn’t men wear head accessories for their wedding day? We absolutely love this styling. Flowers for David include a floral shoulder corsage of regimented petals, leaves and berries. Flowers were created simple and elegant for Richard – a compact hand tied bouquet of Veronica framed with Fern and a buttonhole of Thistle, Hypericum Berries and Veronica compliment this against his check navy blue Master Debonair suit.

The love story….. They met through best friends who worked at David’s local pub (years later they went on to take over the very same pub). David was 21 when he met Richard and they’d been together for eight years before getting married. They love spending time outdoors, holidaying and gardening. Their favourite place visited was Prague and they hope to visit the Maldives and New Orleans! They have 2 dogs, a cat and parrot!

Wedding advice? David says “RUN….. No only joking!! I would say just to remember the day is about the both of you and try to enjoy the run up to it and not stress too much. Planning is key to ensure a smooth running of the day. Delegate tasks to anyone helping you with the wedding. Create a WhatsApp group to keep information central with people helping. Make a free website to put on your invitations so guests can check for any changes to times, directions or menu choices.”

The post Crowning Glory – styled wedding inspiration from Kelham Island Museum appeared first on English Wedding.

Because of the pandemic, Aaron and Jimmy’s images were a team effort, as their original photographer, lovely Shell at Rose O’Toole Photography, had to self isolate. So their photo editor was Rose O’Toole Photography, and their photographer on the day was associate shooter Emma Shaw Photography. Emma stepped in to associate shoot at 24 hours notice, and the images are just wonderful and so full of love!

Wedding photographer’s website

http://roseotoolephotos.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

We did a Google search of photographers around Cambridge. We found Shell’s website and we immediately fell in love with her style of free and easy photography. It was really fun, natural and exactly what we wanted

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We loved having Shell as our photographer. Right from the first email, she was fun and most importantly, replied immediately. Whenever we had a problem or query, she was on it straight away. She was also uber prepared, with lots of contingencies (especially for Covid issues), which really put our minds at ease.

She sadly couldn’t be our photographer due to Covid, but again, due to her amazing prep, her friend and colleague Emma stepped up and filled in for her and did a fantastic job in Shell’s place. Shell’s editing of the photos was fantastic and captured our day fantastically for us.

Start to finish, Shell has been, hands down, the best we could’ve hoped for and we are so lucky that she said YES! to us!

Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?

Due to the pandemic, we had a lot of family and friends who couldn’t come from overseas, including Aaron’s dad in New Zealand. A few people as well, couldn’t come due to mixing in big crowds which was understandable. In order for as many people to be a part of the day, we hired a live streaming company. Everyone around the world was able to watch in real time and online afterwards and leave lovely messages for us. We were also able to save the stream to rewatch later as well. It wasn’t the same as having everyone there, but it was the next best thing. The only thing you had to worry about was saying something you shouldn’t whilst being mic’d up!

https://www.wedding-live-streaming.co.uk/

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

The Missing Sock in Cambridge fit the bill for us. It was exactly what we were after in a venue. We’re not formal or tied to any wedding traditions (unless they’re legal requirements!) And The Missing Sock is such a fun and quirky venue, with a laid back environment, which you can easily adapt to suit your wedding needs. Crucially, it had a huge outdoor area which catered to our Pride festival theme wedding, but plenty of indoor space for the night time and in case of our unpredictable British weather!

The staff were genuinely lovely and made the day a breeze! All of our guests had an amazing day and loved the venue.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Our outfits were the BIGGEST headache of the entire process! It was only 3 days before the wedding that we were finally happy with what we were wearing.

We had so many ideas in our head that either didn’t pan out or were way too expensive, but we got there in the end. I think people mostly loved our shoes from the entire outfit!!

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We didn’t hire a florist, instead we did our our floral arrangements. We got over 100 beer bottles, scrubbed them clean and filled each one with a single Gerbera flower and some fairy lights. We placed these around the venue and the effect was simple, but beautiful, especially at night.

It was a relatively inexpensive, but time-heavy solution.

Did you hire a wedding planner?

We planned about 90% of everything ourselves, with the help of the venue staff, especially Sarah at The Missing Sock. We managed to plan the wedding on a spreadsheet that I created and updated at every step of the way.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Our cake was spectacular! We used Becky’s Cake Bakes in Cambridge as her designs are out of this world! That helped because we’re both sci-fi nerds and our cake design was based around our solar system! Right from the start, Becky was up for the challenge we set her of creating, and was so adaptable through the whole joyed

The cake was AMAZING, both in taste and design! The cake topper of the two of us was, spot on! Each layer was beautifully light and gorgeous!

https://www.beckyscakebakes.co.uk/

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

All of our decorations for the venue were decided and executed by us. We were so proud of ourselves by the way everything looked and flowed on the day.

We had quite a large planning spreadsheet which helped us with planning and budgeting that we created and updated over the entire process

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

To be honest, this is the part that we were both slightly dreading. Standing in front of all those people and taking the final step in getting married. We kept it short and simple and read the prepared vows! The registrar was AMAZING! She kept the proceedings light and fun and interacted with us and the guests, which put us both at ease, which is exactly what we wanted.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We adamantly didn’t want a first dance! We hate dancing! It was a conspiracy between my niece Evie and one of two of the best men, Tim and Stuart that surprised us with a first dance to George Michael & Mary J Blige – ‘As’. We didn’t choose the song, but as first dance songs go, it is a pretty amazing first dance song. We danced awkwardly and had fun at ourselves doing it, but it did mean that people were then dragged on to the dancefloor with us pretty quickly and got the night going, which didn’t stop until 2am!

How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?

We luckily only had to postpone our wedding once by 4 months. We managed to arrange our wedding via a very large and complex spreadsheet that we set up. We kept track of our spending, key dates for payments and a to-do list.

Do something while you can and have time to do it without being stressed. Don’t think “Oh I can do that later’ as ‘later’ will arrive a lot sooner than you think!

Make sure you have a clear idea in your head as to what you want and then allow for that not to be logistically or financially possible and then find a way around it. Other people may have a different and alternative way of doing things that you may not have thought about.

Don’t let others railroad you into doing something you don’t want to do. We made that mistake for a few things and cost us time and money.

What really helped us was going to a brilliant wedding 4 weeks before our wedding and creating a list of all the things that we hadn’t thought about and how we could tailor it around our wedding theme. We were very fortunate that happened for us, but it’s not always possible!

Favourite wedding suppliers

Photographer – Rose O’Toole Photos
Venue – The Missing Sock in Cambridge
Cake – Beckys cake bakes
Confetti – Dollz Confetti
Bespoke shoes – Embassy London
Entertainment – Max Marcus
Live streaming – Wedding Live Streaming

Max was a brilliant DJ and MC. He was really enthusiastic about the way the sound should be set up, the lighting for maximum effect and then the added extras like the amazing selfie-mirror that our guests loved and gave us extra photo memories on top of the official photographer.

Max has a library of music that you’re able to go through and create your own bespoke playlist, which he was able to use and do a fantastic mix on the night and kept everyone in a fantastic mood.

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